Next Monday’s Jeopardy! contestants will include a Canadian, but it might be the last one for a while, because Canadians can no longer legally apply to be contestants, according to producers of the CBS game show created by the late Merv Griffin. This unusual decision, which appears to have been prompted by recent changes to Canada’s online privacy laws, has stumped privacy and academic experts alike. Even producers of Jeopardy! do not seem to know, or are at least reluctant to say in detail why they think it is illegal for Canadians to apply. The National Post’s Joseph Brean investigates, in the inimitable Q&A — no, that’s A&Q — style of Alex Trebek.

A: This Canadian legislation came into force in 2014, banning unsolicited commercial email, the installation of software without consent, deceptive online marketing, harvesting email addresses in bulk, and collecting personal details with spyware, although it does not obviously prevent people applying to game shows. It appears to be the law in question here.

Q: What is the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation, CASL?

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press

A: This spokesperson for Jeopardy! producers said, “As international laws governing how information is shared over the internet are ever-changing and complex, we are currently investigating how we can accept registrations from potential Canadian contestants. The Jeopardy! Adult, Teen, and College tests have already taken place this year, and we are making every effort to find a solution before the next round of testing is available.”

Q: Who is Alison Shapiro of CBS in Culver City, Calif.? A note to potential contestants on the Jeopardy! website also says: “At this time we are precluded from accepting registration information from Canadian residents. We are currently evaluating this matter.”

A: This University of Ottawa expert in online and commercial privacy law said: “That’s really strange. The only major law that has changed in recent years is the anti-spam legislation. However, there is nothing in the law that would preclude Canadians from taking an online test, wherever located.”

Q: Who is Michael Geist? He also noted that the law is based on obtaining consent in advance for electronic transactions. “Assuming the contestant has given their consent to be contacted by taking the test, there is no legal impediment under the anti-spam law to contact them,” he said.

A: Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has fielded this many complaints about Jeopardy! violating their online privacy.

Q: What is zero? “I can tell you that our office has not been engaged in this matter,” said spokeswoman Tobi Cohen.

A: This Jeopardy! host said in a note to Ottawa Citizen columnist Kelly Egan, who was tipped to this story by a reader, that Canadians make great Jeopardy! contestants and he hopes to have more try out “as soon as we are sure we can comply with all Canadian online privacy laws.”

Q: Who is Alex Trebek? A proud Canadian, Trebek thanked Egan for drawing attention “to an issue affecting my native country and the show I love. It is true that for the most recent Jeopardy! contestant tryouts, Canadians were precluded from taking the online test, since the show must now comply with new rules set down by the Canadian government. However, people are in our contestant pool for 18 months, and we have featured several Canadians as contestants on Jeopardy! this season (at least seven at last count), including one who will appear this Monday, Feb. 22, and two more who have already taped for appearances in March.”

Still

A: In a notorious episode last summer, this category stumped all three Jeopardy! contestants, and cost a U.S. army public affairs chief US$8,000, despite questions that were pretty easy for anyone with even a passing acquaintance with Canada, such as “Residents of this Saskatchewan city are called Moose Javians.”

Q: What is “Canadian Cities”? The correct answer, in the form of a question, was “What is Moose Jaw?” and not, as the public affairs chief said, “What is Winnipeg?”

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